My first 100 days…

👋 Who I am

Hey everyone, my name is Jayvik.

I joined Luton Council start of June and I’ve never blogged professionally, so hopefully you’ll find this somewhat interesting! A quick summary about me:

  • Born in India
  • Moved to the UK in ’95 – never spoke a word of English!
  • Lived in six cities spread North to South
  • 15 years in the private industry across 7 brands, 6 industries  

On a personal note, over the past year I’ve learnt something about myself that started to make sense. I’m neurodivergent – something I’m trying to use as a strength. One topic I’ve learnt is that with my ADHD, I thrive more in sprints rather than long marathons.

💯 My first 100 days in Local Government

I feel like I’ve started a fresh book, not even a new chapter in my career by joining the Public Sector. My current role is Strategic Digital Services Manager within the Digital Data and Technology Service.

Well, if you like acronyms, my role ‘ladder’ is DST-UCD > DSD > DDaT (that’s one consistent question I’ve started to ask…what does that acronym stand for and mean!)

I knew stepping into this role would challenge and stretch me, but I didn’t expect to feel energised by the opportunities on the horizon.

🌍 Why Local Government?

For those that know me, know that I love interacting and socialising with people. The work we do here touches real lives, every day. Not one day has gone by where I remind myself, this is people’s hard-earned money at work. I’ve got a small sense so far about how we truly make an impact in people’s lives and that will only grow as we embrace technology to work hard AND smart.

One common theme that has already stuck out is transparency. From sharing our thinking in the open to blogging about our progress, it’s refreshing to be part of a culture that values honesty. One example was when I attended LocalGov Drupal Camp and saw the community’s passion for doing good for residents.

🧗 Challenges and lessons

Now there are just as much, maybe more, complexities in public sector vs private. Legacy systems, tight budgets, and the sheer scale of what we’re trying to do can be daunting. But I’ve found that asking questions, no matter how small or silly they come off, opens that door to curiosity and innovation.

I’ve taken the learnings of being neurodivergent within different workplaces and tried to start off on the front foot here at Luton Council. One example is just a simple touch, but I’ve added this snippet to my external and internal email signatures + Teams status:

🧠 I’m neurodivergent (ADHD) – I appreciate your patience and understanding

In the past, I used to put (Windows and Mac) keyboard shortcuts on how to clear cache 😉

💬 What’s next?

I have a fairly good idea of what the next 100 days will look like as we start the (long-waited) journey to fully revamping our external website – Luton.gov.uk via the LocalGov Drupal platform and community.

Beyond that, it’s still going through a phrase of listening and observing. Creating and deepening relationships with our service teams. I try to spend at least one day a month with Customer Services to ensure I keep my ear to the ground and close to the pulse of Luton residents.

If you’ve read this far, thank you. I’d love to hear your reflections too. What helped you thrive in your first 100 days? What do you wish you’d known?

Let’s keep the chat going…